UP: Maurya floats new party, to hold rally on September 22

Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya floated a new political outfit Loktantrik Bahujan Manch (LBM) on Sunday. Maurya made the announcement at a press conference and dismissed any speculations of his joining the BJP or any other party as of now.

Swami Prasad Maurya made the announcement at a press conference and dismissed any speculations of his joining the BJP or any other party as of now.(PTI Photo)

Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya floated a new political outfit Loktantrik Bahujan Manch (LBM) on Sunday.

Maurya made the announcement at a press conference and dismissed any speculations of his joining the BJP or any other party as of now.

Soon after leaving the BSP last month, Maurya had announced to hold a rally at the Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan, a monument created during the previous Mayawati regime, on September 22.

The rally, which hasn’t been named yet, will now be organised under the LBM. Maurya will launch a statewide tour from July 31 to garner support for the proposed rally.

“We are in talks with other leaders including RK Chaudhary and Babu Singh Kushwaha. However, we are not entering any tie-ups at present. We will reveal further strategy at the rally,” he told media persons.

When asked on the announcement about the participation of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in RK Chaudhary’s rally on July 26, Maurya said Chaudhary had a talk with Kumar in this regard much in advance.

Maurya, yet again, charged BSP chief Mayawati of ruining BSP founder the late Kanshi Ram’s Dalit movement. He added that he would revive it by becoming a strong alternative to the BSP.

When asked why he not raise his voice against ‘donations’ for election tickets during so many of his BSP years, Maurya claimed, “Earlier, ‘donations’ were charged from outsiders, but of late, she (Mayawati) began charging huge donations from party loyalists and founder members too.”

A minister in the previous BSP government, Bhagwati Sagar, too was present with Maurya at the press conference.

Maurya also announced the schedule of his state tour. He said he would begin his tour on July 31 from Devipatan division’s Shravasti district. Then he will cover Basti on August 1, Gorakhpur on August 2, Faizabad on August 3, Allahabad on August 5, Mirzapur on August 9, Varanasi on August 10, and Azamgarh on August 11.

Before this, he said he would hold a meeting on July 24 of divisions from western UP and Bundelkhand divisions like Bareilly, Moradabad, Agra, Meerut, Saharanpur, Kanpur, Jhansi and Chitrakoot.